Does any of you listen to music while riding???

[BarneyRubble]

I have seen a huge rise in the use of ear phones on my commute to work. Personally I would never wear them on the road as I think your ears are nearly as important as your eyes in terms of your awareness. I have seen a number of riders have very near misses because they didn't hear a car coming over their tunes.

I am definitely not trying to restart the infamous helemt debate, but IMHO it is more far dangerous to listen to music on the road than ride without a lid....

Plus the sounds of nature are lovely off road, so I don't use them there either as I feel insulated from the experience. Mind you I'd rather drive the car with the windows down than the air con on.

 

[beepbeep]

I read this too quickly and thought it said "Do you listen to whale music when riding"



No, I don't...

 

[tintin40]

i like to listen to the quiet . much better than any crappy pop song

So true. Hearing the traffic is important in London

 

[FSR-Si]

Always listen to music when i'm riding alone whether it be on or off road, Music gives me motivation to pedal, Cant beat a bit of ACDC, Kings of Leon, or some old punk to get the pedals spinning. Bollox to the traffic around me, if its going to hit me its going to hit me regardless of whether i'm listening to music.

 

[legrandefromage]

as well as smell, I like to listen to the changing sounds of my farts as the digestive process pushes me nearer to touching cloth the further I am away from home.

 

[gibbleking]

i always listen to music cos my hearing is bad on the left .i cant hear cars coming so i always look ..makes me ride safer.fav track at the mo ....acdc live in oz 78 ...whole lotta rosie..
if i dont ride with music i would have to hear all the little noises my sannie makes(quite a few) and it would bug me loads...

 

[FairfaxPat]

They actually passed a law prohibiting the use of earphones while bike riding on the road here in California a few years back-although I still see some people doing it anyway.

 

[BarneyRubble]

They actually passed a law prohibiting the use of earphones while bike riding on the road here in California a few years back-although I still see some people doing it anyway.

That is a good idea.

As for saying if they are going to hit you they will regardless of listening to music makes no sense. I see guys listening to music swerving around in the road in a world of their own because they aren't aware of their surroundings or what cars are coming up from behind. A bike got hit the other day in traffic about 3 cars in front of me and it was entirely his fault because he drifted into the path of the car approaching from behind. He had his headphones in and was oblivious until *THUMP*. i bet he doesn't ride whilst listening to music any more!

What often frustrates me about the arguments on this site about safety issues versus legislation, is the response that legislation makes cycling look dangerous and deters people from entering the sport. I think what deters people from entering the sport is the deaths and injuries of cyclists on the roads of towns and cities and unfortunately, cyclists are often to blame for getting themselves killed through stupid or dangerous practices.
Obviously there are occasions where the driver of a vehicle is to blame, but how often do you hear a report in the news that someone has been prosecuted for killing a cyclist? Not very often. This is not because the police and courts are biased against cyclists, it is because frequently the cyclist was partly or wholy responsible for their own death.

The question of whether the non-cycling public think cycling is safe or not has little to do with legislation and a lot to do with what they see cyclists doing on the roads on a day to day basis. It is up to us as a community to improve the image of cycling and to do this we have to ride in a responsible fashion on the highway.

Off road you should ride like a total maniac at all times to make up for the frustration of riding on tarmac.

RANT OVER

I'm going for a lie down

 

[ekiborter]

I liked that rant ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


;]

 

[Iwasgoodonce]

I can see this going the way of the helmet discussion. I haven't done it since cassettes were the recording medium of choice. This is only because I sort of missed out on the portable CD thing and never replaced the Walkman.
Once I catch up with technology and get an MP3 player I'm sure I will again. I won't have the volume up too loud promise 'guv.
What are we saying here, anyone without the ear equivalent of 20:20 hearing should not be allowed to ride?